The Akron Board of Education and the Akron Education Association have reached a tentative agreement, the district announced Thursday.

The agreement, affecting 2,000 teachers, was reached late Wednesday afternoon, according to a news release.

Teachers will gather at 6 p.m. Sunday at Firestone High School to vote on the proposed settlement. The school board will vote at its regularly scheduled meeting 5:30 p.m. March 29.

Details of the tentative agreement will not be released until both parties have reviewed and voted on the proposed new contract.

GREEN: A second man has been sent to prison for a November 2015 robbery that left a Green man dead.

Ty’Shawn Henderson, 24, of Medina, pleaded guilty in September 2016 to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, with a firearm specification. Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Amy Corrigall Jones sentenced Henderson this week to 11 years for the aggravated robbery and three years for the gun specification, for a total of 14 years.

Henderson is among three men charged in a Nov. 9, 2015, robbery at Corey Seibel’s Long Road home. Prosecutors say the thieves robbed Seibel of a pound of marijuana and one of them shot and killed Seibel. They then fled with the marijuana.

Spencer Sims, 23, of Medina, was sentenced last September to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification.

Trent P. Turner, 28, of Cleveland, whom prosecutors say was the one who pulled the trigger, has been charged with aggravated murder and several other charges. His case is still pending.

Back taxes are approaching $200,000 at the Rubber Bowl as the private owner punts on a football-themed, reutilization plan. Now, the owner is selling a $9.2 million renovation to convert the iconic stadium into “the second largest venue in Northeast Ohio for holding concerts” and outdoor music festivals.

But, quietly, leaders from the city and county are inching toward foreclosing on what has become a safety concern. A garage beneath the bleachers caught fire in January, and there have been reports of unauthorized inhabitants.

Since May of 2015, city code enforcers have issued five violations for unsafe conditions, the last in January for “severe disrepair.”

Team 1 Properties, a Canton company, bought the Rubber Bowl in 2013 from the University of Akron for $38,000. The original plan was to establish a home for the Akron Fire, a United State Football League franchise team.

But the semi-professional football league never took off. And though the tax load has lessened as the property value has tumbled from $2.2 million to $415,500, back taxes have swelled from $84,000 in 2015 to $196,143 today.

Even with investors and industry experts backing the proposed $9.2 million music venue project, the county has been told that Team 1 “does not have the ability to pay the delinquencies,” said Jack LaMonica, spokesman for the Summit County Fiscal Office.

And so city and county leaders have agreed on a plan to ask the Summit County Land Bank to expedite the foreclosure process and sell the property to an owner who will fix or demolish it.

It’s unclear if the new owner would be the city or a neighbor, like the Soap Box Derby.

Patrick Bravo, executive director for the Summit County Land Bank, said the county has asked him to look into it. But the city hasn’t approached him, yet. Tax lien foreclosure cases move quicker through the land bank. From start to finish, a year could pass — instead of the eight years it took the county to acquire Rolling Acres Mall.

Then again, Bravo said, there’s always the possibility that bankruptcy filings could delay this foreclosure case, too. “You never know, until you start the process, what you’re going to run into.”

‘Always a plan’

The tax trouble and looming foreclosure follow two attempts to turn the 78-year-old football stadium into a money-making venue.

“There’s always been a plan,” said Sean Mason, who co-owns Team 1 Properties with William Dunn. Mason told a reporter to forward further questions to his attorney, William Corgan, who has not returned a phone call left with his Akron office.

The Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com obtained a copy of the music venue plan, which was presented to the city last month. Mason and Dunn pitched their renovation to half of Akron City Council and members of the mayor’s legal and economic development teams.

While an earlier plan was to develop a venue for semi-professional football games, the latest plan — in a document about half the size of the first proposal — made only references to live musical performances as a “major revenue earner for both musicians and event promoters.”

In the first proposal, council was told of support from former professional coaches and players. “They were throwing out some big names in football,” said Councilman Bob Hoch, whose city ward houses the Rubber Bowl.

The second plan, which includes a market analysis of the live music industry, has some big names, too, but in music, banking and event promotion. The plan plugs AEL Capital Partners, an investment group with investors from the public and private worlds of finance and entertainment. The Colorado-based firm includes Bob Engel (a 16-year bank CEO), James Larson (who runs a Denver charter school management company), Gene Felling (who was a general manager at premier venues in Colorado and California) and Erik Dyce (who led Denver’s municipal division of theatres).

The plan

Computer generated renderings in the new plan still have “Akron” or “Fire” painted in either end zone. Behind one, a permanent concert stage has been added.

City leaders who listened to the presentation last month said Mason and Dunn were requesting that Akron buy the property and lease it back to them to avoid issues with rezoning for a music venue. Apparently, some construction would go smoother with a public agency holding the deed.

The negotiations never came down to what the city would pay or what would happen to the taxes, Hoch said.

The draft plan also highlights nearby city property that the company would like to see turned into parking for the venue. At 3,000 cars for the average show, the plan boasts $192,000 in annual revenue for eight events.

The plan’s budget includes two phases of construction on the stadium, totaling $5.7 million, and another $2.5 million for “restaurants.” It also boasts the creation of 200 to 300 part- and full-time jobs, and borrows an unsourced black-and-white photo of the Rolling Stones playing the Rubber Bowl in 1972.

Foreclosure track

Municipal leaders have their own plan.

“We met with the city of Akron approximately six weeks ago to determine [the] best possible plan for the rubber bowl,” said LaMonica with the county fiscal office, which oversees tax collection. “At that meeting, both the city and the county agreed that the best possible avenue would be asking Summit County Land Bank to initiate foreclosure on behalf of the city.”

The first step for the land bank is to research the owners, the back taxes and other fees, whether the property is structurally sound and what environmental hazards there are to leave it up or tear it down.

Bravo would negotiate a deal with a third party that would buy the property from the land bank after the tax bill is forgiven. Doing the research and finding a new owner could take 30 to 60 days, Bravo said.

The foreclosure process could take a year or more, especially if Team 1 Properties files bankruptcy, which would freeze all assets during the court hearings.

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .

A business group is hoping to get a train depot built in Akron’s Merriman Valley.

Whether that’s possible, however, isn’t clear to the many entities that would be involved.

The newly formed Merriman Valley Business Association has posted a petition on Change.org encouraging the construction of the building, which would serve as a stop for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

“I don’t like to call it a petition. I like to call it a letter of encouragement,” said Karen Zampelli, an association member who posted the document.

As of Thursday evening, the petition had 381 signatures toward its goal of 500. It can be found at http://tinyurl.com/merrimandepot.

The business group is suggesting situating the depot on land along Riverview Road, between the Greater Akron Motorcycle Club and the Valley Dental Group. The land is owned by the Summit Metro Parks.

The hope is that passengers on the scenic railroad might stop when the train passes through the valley and visit the shops, restaurants and other businesses there, Zampelli said. It’s one of several ideas the group is floating to attract visitors, including a farmers market and better signage for the nearby Towpath Trail, she said.

The idea is in its infancy, however, and it’s not clear who would pay for the depot if one were built.

The train runs between Independence and the northern edge of Akron’s downtown, traveling for most of its route through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is owned and operated by the nonprofit Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, but the National Park Service owns and maintains the tracks, said Pam Barnes, community engagement supervisor for the park service.

“No one has contacted us about this,” Barnes said, although she said the park welcomes ideas from the community. She said the proposal would need to be evaluated by the parties involved, and she doesn’t know whether the project would be pursued.

Barnes noted building a depot would involve not just the cost of construction, but also personnel and money to maintain it. Most depots along the line are unstaffed but have bathrooms that require regular maintenance, she said.

“Venturing outside our park boundaries is quite a big decision,” she said. “There would be a lot to discuss.”

The land proposed for the depot is considered wetland, so building a depot might not be possible there, said Nate Eppink, chief of community engagement for Summit Metro Parks. The park district is aware of the petition, although it has not been contacted by the organizers, Eppink said.

The Cuyahoga Valley railroad referred questions to Dan Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, a nonprofit organization that supports preservation and development along the route of the Ohio & Erie Canal. The railroad was contacted before its new CEO, Joseph Mazur, started his job this week.

Rice said he’s heard talk of a Merriman Valley depot for several years.

“On the one hand, it makes sense,” he said, but where a depot would be located and who would pay for it would need to be worked out. He speculated the project might require the National Park Service to buy more land.

If the petition gets 500 signatures, it would be presented to several Akron council members and to officials with the railroad and the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a nonprofit organization that supports the park.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ or on Twitter @MBBreckABJ .

The city will continue to subsidize an unprofitable golf course — but with new management.

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan will announce Friday plans to partner with the First Tee of Akron to manage the Mud Run Golf Course at 2000 S. Hawkins Ave.

A Blue Ribbon task force assembled by the mayor prior to taking office recommended that the new administration evaluate the economic viability of the two city-owned golf courses, which include 18-hole J.E. Good Park and nine-hole Mud Run.

The golf business has slumped in recent years. Mud Run was opened in 2003 amid fervor driven by the upswing popularity of Tiger Woods. The city budgeted $1.32 million to operate both parks last year after spending $277,300 above what was brought in the year before.

In a news release, the city said the partnership with First Tee, a nonprofit organization that promotes youth golfing, is “designed to increase operational efficiency and enhance programming, while supporting the needs of the community.”

The goal is for the golf course under First Tee to become self-sufficient and operate without a city subsidy.

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .

BARBERTON: The building shared by Barberton Municipal Court and Barberton City Hall is getting something many of its contemporaries have had for years: A security system at the entrance.

The nearly $100,000 project is currently being installed. When it becomes functional next month, it will include a walk-through metal detector, an X-ray machine for bags, and an employee key card system.

Court administrator Robert Incorvati said as a former attorney and prosecutor, it was rare that he encountered a courthouse without at least metal detectors at the front door.

“When I was in private practice, I had not run into many,” he said.

Less common are X-ray machines used to scan purses and briefcases. Barberton will use a $35,000 scanner paid for by a Ohio Supreme Court technology grant.

The only screening now done in Barberton is a security guard with a wand as people exit the second-floor elevator where the courtroom is located.

Mayor Bill Judge recalled a woman last year who didn’t like the outcome of her court case and threatened to stab a prosecutor. Police caught up with her as she was exiting the building and found a knife in her purse. Under the new system, the knife would have been detected by the X-ray machine, he said.

The court will staff the first-floor entrance and will keep the second-floor guard as well, Incorvati said.

“From the court’s perspective, we like the idea of channeling everyone who’s coming into court through one spot. Then as they come off the elevator we are comfortable that they’ve been screened so we’ll just watch to make sure they are supposed to be there,” he said.

Because the court shares a building with city offices, city workers and residents stopping into various offices will benefit from the extra layer of protection, Judge noted.

“We probably have close to 100 employees here, and then on a daily basis close to another hundred residents who come in to pull permits, pay water bills, go to court,” Judge said.

He will breathe a bit easier as well, he said.

“We’ve had people not like the outcome in court and think maybe I can change things, so they’ll come down to my office,” Judge said. “There are times we’ve had to call the police up to remove someone.”

People attending evening City Council meetings also will be screened.

“You don’t want to have security during the day and drop it at night,” Judge said.

The Park Avenue building that looks over Lake Anna was built in 1952.

Former court personnel and city administrators have talked about improving security for decades, but were put off by several hurdles, including solid concrete walls that resist retrofitting, a challenging layout that features stairs and a small lobby and the cost.

In addition to the state funds, the Barberton Community Foundation contributed money toward the project.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.

AKRON

Man says he was assaulted

AKRON: A 38-year-old Akron man reported Tuesday afternoon that he was pistol-whipped and shot in the calf while in a driveway in the 1200 block of Dover Avenue in the city’s West Akron neighborhood.

The victim was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where he was treated for what was believed to be injuries that were not life-threatening.

Police said the victim was uncooperative and would not provide a description of the attacker.

MEDINA COUNTY

Road to close for work

HINCKLEY TWP.: State Road, just north of Ledge Road, will close Monday for a bridge replacement project as part of the Ohio Bridge Partnership Program, the Ohio Department of Transportation said.

It is expected to reopen June 26.

summit county

Man gets 14-year sentence

AKRON: A second man has been sent to prison for a November 2015 robbery that left a Green man dead.

Ty’Shawn Henderson, 24, of Medina, pleaded guilty in September 2016 to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, with a firearm specification. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones sentenced Henderson this week to 11 years for the aggravated robbery and three years for the gun specification, for a total of 14 years.

Henderson is among three men charged in a Nov. 9, 2015, robbery at Corey Seibel’s Long Road home. Prosecutors say the thieves robbed Seibel of a pound of marijuana and one of them shot and killed Seibel. They then fled with the marijuana.

Spencer Sims, 23, of Medina, was sentenced last September to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification.

Trent P. Turner, 28, of Cleveland, whom prosecutors say pulled the trigger, has been charged with aggravated murder. His case is still pending.

Shapiro aims to save bonds

Summit County government’s executive wants to save the tax-exempt municipal bond.

As some Republicans in Washington look at revoking the tax-exempt status of muni bonds as part of significant changes to the federal tax code, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro told Congress this week that the bonds are critical tools for local governments.

“Nearly two-thirds of core infrastructure investments in the United States are financed with municipal bonds,” Shapiro wrote. “In 2015 alone, more than $400 billion in municipal bonds were issues to finance the projects that touch the daily lives of every American citizen and business.”

Summit County last year issued $34 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds, Shapiro said. Most of the proceeds financed an upgrade to the county’s emergency radio system, with the tax exemption saving millions of dollars, she said. The bond issuances also meant the county did not have to cut back other programs or capital projects, she said.

Shapiro’s letter went to Ohio’s two U.S. senators and to the county’s congressional representatives.

STOW

Military Humvee missing

STOW: The Ohio National Guard discovered a military Humvee had been stolen from the Stow Armory sometime before Wednesday afternoon.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is asking the public to keep an eye out for the Humvee. It is black with three bumper stickers: 174 and 1-145 near the left taillight and HQ-51 near the right tail light.

According to reports, the vehicle was stolen from the armory, 4630 Allen Road, after a thief cut through a chain-link fence and disabled the vehicle’s locking mechanism. He or she then drove the Humvee off the premises.

There are no witnesses. It was reported missing shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the State Highway Patrol at 216-265-1677.

CLEVELAND: It may be spring on the calendar, but at Cleveland Botanical Garden, it’s Big Spring.

Big Spring is the botanical garden’s annual celebration of imagination, a playful event tailored for its youngest visitors.

There are towering flowers that Alice might have encountered in Wonderland. There are toy boats to launch and a maze to explore. There’s a stage where budding thespians can perform, dressed as bats or butterflies.

And of course, there are real blooms, so visitors of all ages can immerse themselves in the sights and smells of the season.

This is the fifth year for Big Spring, and it’s proved popular for families with young children, said Cynthia Druckenbrod, the garden’s director of horticultural exhibits and communication.

The event mixes the fantastical and the real, all with a botanical theme. “It is designed to thrill little kids,” she said.

   

(Jeff Lange/Special to the Beacon Journal)

 

Sarah Hill of North Royalton plays with wooden boats with her 2-year-old niece Sophia Percaciante of Independence Tuesday during the Big Spring event at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

That’s just the reaction 2-year-old Sophia Percaciante had when she walked through an enormous flowerpot turned on its side into a hallway lined with flowers and whimsical animal figures, all low to the ground to put them at kid level.

“That’s a birdie! That’s a birdie!” the Independence toddler exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a statue tucked among the blooms. She hadn’t even noticed the gigantic petunia replicas that rose high over her head, stretching taller than most adults.

Most of the Big Spring action takes place in the garden’s Clark Hall, which for this event has been transformed into the Garden of Fun. There kids can float wooden boats among the goldfish in a miniature pool, serve imaginary tea under the shelter of an arbor and make their way through an artificial boxwood maze to find the miniature train layout at its center.

On this day, the Toadstool Theatre proved to be the biggest draw. There a cluster of preschoolers donned butterfly wings, scarlet macaw hats and other nature-theme getups, some of them prancing and twirling onstage in their own made-up performances and others just enjoying the chance to dress up.

   

(Jeff Lange/Special to the Beacon Journal)

 

Pavika Wilson of Solon pretends to pour her son Emmett a cup of tea at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party during the Big Spring event held at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

Sixteen-month-old Emmett Wilson, dressed in a bee costume, was mainly interested in trying to move one of the toadstool seats that had been set in front of the stage for spectators to enjoy the impromptu shows.

His mom, Pavika Wilson of Solon, said she brought Emmett and 2½-year-old Eli to the garden because there were so many activities for children their age to enjoy. Beside the garden’s Christmas celebration, “Big Spring is the greatest one for the kids,” she said.

   

(Jeff Lange/Special to the Beacon Journal)

 

Visitors take in the environment of the children's area of the Cleveland Botanical Garden during the Big Spring event.

It’s also great for the kids at heart, Druckenbrod said. She knows of at least one group of adult visitors who tried on the theater’s costumes and entertained the crowd with a little jig.

Many of the activities are indoors, so visitors can enjoy Big Spring in any weather. A Critter Corner dedicated to insects has a Discovery Log, a fake, fallen hollow tree that kids can walk through to see real turtles, frogs and other creatures in terrariums built into the wall. A miniature stadium plays host to mealworm races at least once a day, where kids can cheer on beetle larvae as they crawl along the divided lanes.

   

(Jeff Lange/Special to the Beacon Journal)

 

Phoebe Trimbata, 2, of South Euclid enjoys the activities of the Big Spring event while wearing butterfly wings and a parrot cap found in the Toadstool Theatre dress-up area.

The mealworms don’t always comply with human commands. “Sometimes they go into other lanes. Sometimes they go backward. Sometimes they don’t move,” Druckenbrod said.

The garden’s glasshouse also has a daily release of butterflies in its Costa Rica biome, a replica of a tropical rainforest. And as always, there are creatures to explore there and in the adjacent replica of a spiny desert from Madagascar.

On nice days, visitors can venture out to the gardens on the property, where daffodils are starting to open and tulips should follow in a few weeks.

Kids can also engage in garden-theme play in Hershey Children’s Garden, and anyone can enjoy a game of chess using the oversize chess set on the patio.

Play, after all, isn’t just for children.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ or on Twitter @MBBreckABJ .

SUFFIELD TWP.: Goodyear hosted a party at the blimp’s house Thursday, and about 200 Akron students were the guests.

The Akron Public Schools eighth-graders, who make up the LeBron James Family Foundation’s first I Promise class, visited the hangar at Wingfoot Lake.

The students, who have been in the program since third grade, got a behind-the-scenes look Thursday at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s operations and a chance to explore career opportunities during the Hometown Innovation outing.

Goodyear had 100 volunteers on hand to make the students feel welcome. They lined the entryway and let out whoops and cheers when each group of students arrived. An arch of star balloons in Goodyear blue and yellow stretched over a corner of the hangar where stations were set up, including a place to design a tread for a racing tire, sign a tire made especially as a gift for the foundation, learn about a career as a blimp mechanic and other jobs, and program their own message for the blimp display.

The blimp was there, too — the same one christened last fall by Savannah James, wife of LeBron.

“Our whole hope with the kids is that they are going to go through a variety of experiences and talk to Goodyear associates and help see themselves in different careers they could have at Goodyear,” said Alison White, director of community engagement at the company.

“It’s all about Hometown Innovation here in their backyard,” said Emily Cropper, senior PR manager for airship communications.

Experiences such as Thursday’s, in the shadow of the airship Wingfoot Two, can help students as they are choosing their career paths, said Keith Liechty, Akron Public Schools’ coordinator for school improvement.

“What’s really exciting about our partnership with the foundation is they are able to accelerate some of the experiences for our kids,” he said. “Our high schoolers are really focused on college and career and access and activities and so here we have eighth-graders who are already out in the field, talking to business professionals, learning about the different careers and STEM opportunities.”

James wants the students to have the opportunity to explore and hopefully ignite a passion they might not know they have, much like he did, said Michele Campbell, the foundation’s executive director.

It’s about connecting to the community as well.

“It’s about showing them ... they can get a job here [and] stay here, helping them feel inspired,” White said. “As the kids grow up, they can think of Goodyear as a place to work. It’s not this big, kind of far off company they could never see themselves at. Knowing people that work there and jobs they could see themselves in, they kind of start to see the potential that they could have.”

After a welcome from Mason McClelland of Goodyear’s IT development program, foundation volunteer Konstantine Howley led the students in reciting the “I Promise” pledge.

During their visit, the students talked to employees such as Shannon Thompson, business center manager at Innovation Center Manufacturing at Goodyear, who came to Akron from Union City, Tenn., and Topeka, Kan., after a plant closure. Her department produces NASCAR race tires and made the special tire with the foundation imprint on it that students were able to sign.

“I never thought I would leave Union City,” she said. “But ... the doors closed and my career continued to advance. I’m just following the lead. ... It’s a pleasure for me to be here as a role model for the eighth-graders.”

Terry McKenzie, working supervisor for product evaluation, proudly showed cellphone pictures of himself in a blue jumpsuit and helmet getting out of a bright red Camaro he had test driven.

He was hired during his last year at East High School in 1974 and has been with the company ever since. He used to walk by Goodyear “all the time,” see the test vehicles and wanted to work for the company. One day, his dream came true when two people out of his senior class were chosen to interview at either Goodyear or the East Ohio Gas Co. His first interview was at Goodyear.

“The guy said the reason why he had hired me is because I told him I had seen Goodyear in my future,” he said. He began in the mailing department, and now he makes sure the right tires get put on the right cars, traveling to various racetracks around the country. He went from walking past the company to now driving for it.

Students were enjoying the day, too.

Jayden Shippe, 13, of Litchfield middle school, said it was a “great experience. I’m learning new stuff with my friends. ... I met a lot of very nice people.” He said he wants to be an engineer if the NBA doesn’t work out.

Autumn Albertson, 13, of Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, was excited to see the blimp up close.
“It’s very nice for the eighth-graders to get information on it,” she said. “I’m learning new things and different things today. ... This is exciting and completely brand new to me.”

Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ  and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.

Two men who were wrongfully imprisoned for more than 16 years for a Portage County woman’s slaying will each receive more than $2 million.

The Ohio Court of Claims has awarded Bob Gondor and Randy Resh $1.45 million each, an amount on top of $851,000 they previously received for lost earnings.

Gondor, however, said the amount he and Resh will receive will be less than this once they pay the debts they have incurred in 11 years of litigation to clear their names and then be compensated for the years they lost in prison.

“It won’t be that much,” Gondor, 53, said in a phone interview Thursday. “We went into debt to accomplish this.”

The latest award, negotiated in a settlement between the state, Gondor and Resh, is expected to be released by the state Controlling Board next month.

Asked if the amount will be enough, Gondor answered with a definitive, “No.”

“I don’t think any wrongfully convicted individual would say they were happy they got this for spending 17 years in prison for something they never did,” he said. “We lost our lives. We went in at 26 and came home at 43.”

Gondor and Resh were convicted in the 1988 strangling death of Connie Nardi, 31, after a man who pleaded guilty in Nardi’s death implicated them. Gondor and Resh, however, maintained their innocence.

Charges were dropped against Gondor after Resh was acquitted in his retrial.

In addition to the $1.45 million the Court of Claims awarded to Gondor and Resh, the court’s settlement includes paying $1.1 million to attorneys Mark Marein and Steven Bradley for representing the two men and about $18,000 for experts involved in the litigation, according to a news release from the court.

Gondor said Bradley has been part of the legal battle for 13 years, while Marein has been on board for 10 years. He said the attorneys were among numerous lawyers, friends and family who helped the two men over the years.

Resh, 53, who now resides in Garfield Heights, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.

Gondor, now living in Chardon, said he and Resh have been friends since first grade, were in the same prison for 11 years, at times sharing a cell, and remain friends today.

“Randy and I shook hands to go down the road to fight this wrong,” he said. “We held fast to our agreement.”

Gondor said he isn’t sure how much money he will be left with after his litigation debts are paid. Asked what he will do with the money, he said he is living in a family member’s home and would like to make it his own. He also wouldn’t mind getting a nicer car or truck and investing some for his retirement.

In the end, Gondor said he and Resh still will need to work. He said the money isn’t cause for celebration.

“There’s no real celebration here,” Gondor said. “This was a tragedy, not only for us, but for the family of the victim.”

Gondor pointed to some of the losses he and Resh suffered. Neither has children. Gondor’s father died while he was in prison. Still, though, Gondor said, he is happy to be home.

“I’m doing OK,” he said. “I’m well. I don’t sit here and rail about the justice system.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj  and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.

The family and friends of Keith Johnson, who was gunned down in Akron earlier this week during a confrontation over a dirt bike, will protest Friday with the aim of getting harsher charges against his killer.

William Knight told dispatchers Monday night that he “had no choice” but to shoot Johnson, who reportedly tried to flee the scene on the bike after a confrontation erupted. Knight, who’s being held in the Summit County Jail on a $500,000 bond, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault. Harsher charges could be levied against him after the case is heard by a grand jury.

Johnson’s family will protest at noon in front of the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center, 217 S. High St. They plan to argue that Knight should be charged with murder and that the lesser charges against Knight are a result of systemic racism. Johnson was black and Knight is white.

According to police and 911 recordings, Knight went with his daughter and her husband to meet Johnson after discovering the son-in-law’s stolen dirt bike for sale online. Johnson’s family said after the shooting that Johnson, who was selling the bike, did not know it was stolen and had purchased it from an acquaintance last year.

Knight’s family asked police to escort them to the meeting, but they said officers had to respond to a different call.

The meeting — at about 9 p.m. in the 700 block of Danmead Avenue — turned confrontational, and Johnson tried to flee on the bike. The son-in-law grabbed the bike to stop Johnson from driving away, and Knight said he feared Johnson could hurt him or his family with the bike. That’s when Knight, who has a license to carry a concealed handgun, drew the gun and fired.

A bullet struck Johnson in the head, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. Knight told a dispatcher he thought he hit him in the chest, but it was dark so he wasn’t sure.

Police later confirmed the bike was the one that was stolen. Who stole it remains under investigation.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ  and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .

FAIRLAWN: There are so many photographs.

In collages that cover every inch of large pieces of poster board.

In an album carried close by a grieving mother.

On the cellphones of a group of teenage girls, still struggling with the unexpected loss of their beloved friend.

They show friendships growing through the varying stages of young lives: Bubbly kindergartners smiling the gap-toothed grins of those who have just started losing baby teeth. Preteens with their arms locked around each other. Teammates with their eyes focused on the volleyball court, oblivious to the camera. Young women dressed up for dances, excited for their night out. Smiling, silly selfies.

There are so many photographs.

(Family and friend photos)

But in the latest group photo, taken earlier this month at the Panera in Fairlawn, one smiling young girl is missing: Rachel Anne DeMaio, who died of an overdose in October at age 17 after taking cocaine to stay awake to help her study. The drug was laced with carfentanil, a powerful opiate strong enough to sedate an elephant.

The Woodridge High School student left a large group of friends spread across several schools. She went to grade school at St. Hilary School in Fairlawn, Archbishop Hoban High School and then transferred to Woodridge. 

Now her worlds are uniting. At least 12 girls from Woodridge, Hoban, Revere, Walsh Jesuit and St. Vincent-St. Mary high schools are coming together in a group called Rachel’s Angels to spread the message of the evils of drugs and to attest to their devastating effects. 

(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

Cindy DeMaio (left) talks to Sophie Bisson (second from left) as Sierra Shannon, Maggie Weber, Alyssa Baker and Megan Hissong look at the death certificate of their friend Rachel DeMaio after a gathering to talk about their friend and their world to spread the message of drug awareness. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal).

They plan to give their personal accounts of how drugs have touched their lives through the loss of their friend after other speakers at anti-drug assemblies organized by schools. One such assembly is in the works at Woodridge. They hope the message is more likely to stick with students if it comes from their peers. They have pencils and bracelets that bear their message. They also plan to get together once a month for training sessions on how to reach out. 

“People will be more likely to listen to people their age than their parents,” said Sophie Bisson, 16, of Stow, who goes to St. Vincent-St. Mary. She met Rachel through travel volleyball. “If they did, they wouldn’t be doing it.” 

Their message is clear: Drugs equal death.

Girls in the group pledge to be alcohol and drug free, true to themselves and be ready to help others, said Rachel’s mother, Cindy DeMaio of Cuyahoga Falls. They want young people to know there are other ways to have fun besides drinking and doing drugs and that the best prevention is to stay out of their presence entirely.

One way to avoid those temptations is by surrounding oneself with a good group of people, said Megan Hissong, 17, who lives in Bath and goes to Walsh Jesuit. She met Rachel in preschool at Revere when they were 4 years old, and they went through grade school together at St. Hilary.

(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

Rachel's Angels (from left) Sophie Bisson, Alyssa Baker, Hailey Vieltorf and Megan Hissing look over a poster board of photos of the friend Rachel DeMaio, who died of an overdose in October 2016.

“If you are with people that make you happy then you shouldn’t need drugs or alcohol to have fun,” Megan said. “This group has been great because it’s been very educational for me. I knew drugs were bad, but I didn’t realize just how strong, and the devastating effects that can be.” 

The group also hopes to help find resources for parents who are trying to find recovery options for a teen or loved one.

“The struggle is unbelievable for a family that has someone under the age of 18 to get help,” said Karen Weber, a family friend and assistant principal of Hudson Middle School. “Rachel’s dad [Russ] shared with me when we were meeting together that they were given four pages of resources to call and they were sent home with Rachel after a difficult time. He started going down the list and what he heard was, ‘Do you have insurance? Does your insurance cover rehab? How old is your daughter?’ I want a place that you call and the first thing you hear is, ‘I’m so sorry you are struggling. How can we help you?’ Parents do not know what to do.”

The DeMaios were looking into drawing therapy for Rachel, Cindy DeMaio said, but were sent home until the counselor could figure out what type would be best. She died before her first appointment. 

Gathering helps the girls cope. It’s what they did in those first hazy days after Rachel’s death.

“They would call and say, ‘Can I come over?’ ” her mother recalled. “I had so many girls, and then I thought, how in the world can I comfort them? So we just went in her room and we sat in groups … and then I said, ‘Why don’t you pick out a piece of her clothing?’ And a couple of the girls said, ‘That’s my shirt!’ We all got to laughing and I thought, let’s get some therapy going.”

They shared their favorite memories of Rachel. They cried together, they laughed together and they decided they would honor her memory together.  

“From there it just kind of formed” with the help of a group of moms who had been friends for years, DeMaio said.

The girls were ready and eager to help. 

“It’s something that came natural to them,” said Lisa Zoldesy of Stow, a family friend whose daughter, Anna, wrote the poem Rachel’s Message in Rachel’s memory. “It was family, and they wanted to be part of helping Mrs. DeMaio and Mr. DeMaio.”

The group helps the girls work through their grief and gives parents the chance to check in and see how they are doing.

“It’s an easier way of still talking about it,” said Alaina O’Donnell, 17, of Bath, who goes to Walsh and was best friends with Rachel since fifth grade. “But also planning stuff for other people because everyone else was also grieving about it, too. It was just easier helping other people get through it while also getting through it yourself.”

Rachel was Hailey Vieltorf’s first friend. 

“She was always the person you could tell anything to and she would never expect anything in return,” said Hailey, 17, of Copley and a Hoban student. “She always thought of you before herself. We had our St. Hilary group, and if she wasn’t there it was like there was something missing.” 

Maggie Weber was at St. Hilary when she found out about Rachel’s death. Maggie, 16, of Copley and a Hoban student, called some of the other girls who had known her from St. Hilary and they went from house to house, spreading the word and picking up friends. Their instinct was to be together. 

“And now we’re together still,” Maggie said. 

“We worry about how are they dealing with it,” said Karen Weber, Maggie’s mother. “There are days they just go on with life and think about Rachel once or twice and then there are probably nights they feel bad and wonder about what they could have done differently, and what might have been. We worry about their healing process, as parents.”

(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

Cindy DeMaio holds her daughter Rachel's death certificate at a gathering of Rachel's Angels, a group of her daughter's friends who gathered to talk about their friend and their world to spread the message of drug awareness.

DeMaio wants to keep the memory of her daughter alive, and she wants to spread her message: Carfentanil kills.

“My daughter passed away from carfentanil toxicity,” she said. “When I saw that on my daughter’s death certificate at the funeral home, I knew I had to do something at that point. … And [the drug epidemic is] only going to get worse.”

She brought her daughter’s death certificate to the recent meeting at Panera as a sobering reminder to parents to be vigilant.

“We knew there were issues,” DeMaio said about Rachel. “It was not a one-time thing. And that’s part of this whole group, to be honest and tell the truth.”

“Carfentanil … ended up in my little apartment in Cuyahoga Falls,” DeMaio said. “That’s pretty scary. … Don’t ever think this won’t happen to you. We never thought it would happen to us. And now that I know the dangers, I want to be able to walk up to anybody in this community and be able to say, ‘Do you know what carfentanil is?’  

“… These kids need to know,” she said. “…It takes everybody coming together.” 

Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ  and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.

In the weeks following the mysterious disappearance of Lafayette Township Trustee Bryon Macron, officials hired firms to replace the carpet and repaint the walls and ceiling in his office — where authorities say they found blood.

Investigators have been close-lipped about where and how much blood they found in Macron’s disheveled township office on Dec. 16. They also have refused to say whether they suspect foul play and where blood was located in his vehicle, which was discovered that day, next to the lake where his body was found floating two months later.

The township records, requested by the Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com, show the walls in Macron’s former office were repainted and the carpet was replaced after investigators collected evidence at the scene. Trustees also hired an agency that specializes in crime scene cleanup.

Township trustees Lynda Bowers and Mike Costello did not return several requests for comment over three days this week. Marty Warchola, who was selected earlier this week to replace Macron on the board of trustees, did not have contact information that was publicly listed.

According to the records, the township hired four agencies after Macron’s disappearance. The agencies replaced carpet and locks, repainted walls and cleaned the scene.

The township repainted and replaced carpet in other parts of the building too. Locks also were replaced at the fire department.

In total, the township paid $7,947.51 in replacements and repairs since Dec. 16. It’s unclear how much was spent on Macron’s office specifically.

The cleaning agency, Servpro of Medina County, declined to comment when contacted this week, citing confidentiality concerns.

A spokesman for National Carpet Mill Outlet said this week there was no blood by the time his crews were called to replace the carpet.

“Servpro tends to have everything clean by the time we get there to replace things,” the spokesman said.

Though the township’s records don’t detail the severity of blood at the scene, they do provide clues that investigators have been unwilling to share. It remains unclear where investigators found blood in his vehicle.

Macron disappeared on Dec. 16. His body was found floating in Chippewa Lake on Feb. 21.

Macron’s cause of death has not been released, and officials have denied journalists access to coroner records, despite an Ohio law that specifically allows reporters to inspect them.

Macron, whose funeral was held March 7, is survived by wife, Victoria, and three daughters. He worked as a national sales representative for a jewelry wholesaler and once served in the U.S. Marines. He had been a trustee in the township of 5,000 people in Medina County since 2010.

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ  and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .

For a state hit hard by a national heroin epidemic and one that’s fighting back with Medicaid expansion dollars, Ohio is home to one in six Americans who could lose access to drug addiction and mental health services if President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress take another crack at repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Though the GOP replacement plan has stalled in the House, Ohio would have lost more than most for two reasons: it’s among 32 states that accepted Medicaid expansion as part of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and opioid-related overdose deaths are twice as common in Ohio as the national average.

Health care economists Sherry Glied of New York University and Richard G. Frank of the Harvard Medical School estimate that 1.3 million Americans could lose mental and drug addiction services accessed today through Medicaid-funded and private health insurance gained under the Affordable Care Act. That includes 220,000 Ohioans.

In short, 4 percent of Americans live in Ohio, which is home to 17 percent of ACA enrollees at risk of losing drug and mental health treatment under the failed GOP plan, largely because it would have begun unwinding Medicaid expansion in 2020.

Pro-repeal lawmakers led by Trump argued that the replacement plan, the American Health Care Act, would have given flexibility back to the states on how to spend federal health entitlements for the poor, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reckons would have been cut by $880 billion.

But there’s bipartisan consensus in Ohio that the plan would have devastated the poor, who consequently are the most likely to overdose, according to a recent analysis by the Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com.

Republicans deviate

Republican Gov. John Kasich supports repealing the Obama-era health care program. But he said it must be achieved through Democrats and Republicans working together, and without leaving tens — if not hundreds — of thousands of low-income Ohioans with no access to drug addiction treatment.

“Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care,” Kasich said this month.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Cincinnati joined three fellow Republicans in petitioning Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to reject the GOP plan as drafted. In the face of Tea Party conservatives demanding austerity and deep cuts to entitlement programs, Portman has advocated more funding to fight drug addiction. He said the GOP plan “could result in a reduction in access to life-saving health care services” for Medicaid recipients, “especially those with opioid and mental health treatment.”

It’s unclear if Trump and Republicans controlling Congress will move onto tax reform or take another swing at the repeal plan, produced in a month to replace a Democratic health care law negotiated over a year.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney threatened Thursday that Trump would abandon the ACA repeal effort if the House failed to act, thus abandoning a major GOP campaign promise to undo the Affordable Care Act. Republicans touted that pledge in the past three federal elections, shifting the balance of political power to the right in Washington and state capitals.

Democrats fight back

Ohio Democrats, meanwhile, have emphasized that GOP plans to repeal Obama’s health care program will hurt the state’s fight against addiction.

Sen. Sherrod Brown of Cleveland underscored the issue in a confirmation hearing for Georgia Gov. George Perdue, Trump’s pick to head the United State Department of Agriculture.

“My state has more opioid deaths than any other state in the country,” Brown said. “There are 200,000 — right now, there are 200,000 — Ohioans that are getting opioid addiction treatment that are on the Affordable Care Act. I know that’s not your issue, though it’s your party’s issue and the president’s issue. If something happens and that insurance is taken away, as it would be with the House bill for all those people who have opioid addictions and are getting treatment, I would ask you if you would you go back to [Office of Management and Budget] and the White House to protect funding used in the battle against opioid addiction in rural Ohio and rural America?”

“The sad thing about that as you well know, Senator,” Perdue replied, “is that much of this is in rural areas of despair. So I will obviously be an advocate for the betterment.”

On a call with reporters Friday morning, Congressman Tim Ryan of Niles joined the mayor of Chillicothe and a Franklin County commissioner — both Democrats — and Dr. Matthew Noordsij-Jones, who has advocated for single-payer health care in the past, to highlight the ACA repeal’s impact on addiction treatment.

Also Friday, days before her departure from the Ohio House to serve as deputy law director for Summit County, Akron Democrat Greta Johnson wrote a “Dear John” letter criticizing Kasich for not declaring the opiate epidemic in Ohio an emergency.

“Last week in my district, two children, aged two and six, overdosed on opioids in separate incidents,” Johnson wrote in calling Kasich a hypocrite for demanding federal funding at least remain at its current level while not putting more of the state’s $2 billion rainy day fund into his budget to fight addiction. “What will it take for this state to take a unified approach to stop talking about it and start doing something about it?”

Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .

By Katie Byard

Beacon Journal staff writer

It’s not just big chemical plants and the like that are required to get air permits. Small manufacturers that paint or spray items, dry cleaners, gas stations and funeral homes that operate crematories also have to get the permits allowing air emissions.

“Nearly every type of business has a potential to have a permit,” said Sam Rubens, Akron Regional Air Quality Management District administrator.

This month, the district launched a program designed to make it easier for new and existing small businesses to comply with often difficult to understand federal and state air quality regulations. The local program is the first of its kind in the state.

A staff member, Megan Talcott, is now the district’s contact for any small business in the three-county region of Summit, Medina and Portage counties that has or may need an air permit. Permits are required for certain levels of chemicals, dust and fumes.

The service is free.

Big companies often hire a consultant to help them with emissions issues, Talcott said, but small businesses often can’t afford to do so.

Talcott said her dealings with companies will be confidential.

“If Megan finds out there are problems, she can help them come into compliance,” Rubens said. “We don’t really want to go through the enforcement process if we don’t have to.”

However, if significant violations are found during an inspection by district regulators, enforcement proceedings could still happen.

The district’s Compliance and Technical Assistance Program is a local version of what the state Environmental Protection Agency already offers.

Rubens and Talcott said that companies are free to continue to go to the state for assistance.

But, they said, the hope is that area small business will see the local program as an easier route to getting questions answered and help with filling out forms relating to existing or new permits. A manufacturing company with an existing permit, for example, may need a new permit when switching or adding new processes.

There currently are 1,100 businesses and institutions with air permits in the three-county region. Many of the permits are for small operations.

“It’s just a lot easier for us to get to local people,” Rubens said.

District staff members decided to create the local program, recognizing that Talcott had the expertise to lead the initiative, Rubens said. The Akron Regional Air Quality Management District is a program administered by Summit County Public Health.

Talcott has worked with the district for five years and previously worked at the state EPA.

For more information, go to www.araqmd.org or call Megan Talcott at 330-812-3904.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ  on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.

Akron tech startup 7signal wanted new digs, so it asked local governments for their best deals.

Cuyahoga County won.

Akron and Summit County lost.

7signal, a promising startup that was nurtured in the business incubator in downtown Akron, is moving to Independence in southern Cuyahoga County.

Earlier this week, Cuyahoga County boasted in a news release that it is giving 7signal, which specializes in wireless technology, a $480,000 Business Attraction Forgivable Loan.

7signal also is getting a $200,000 job creation grant from the city of Independence, according to the news release.

Nevertheless, 7signal’s decision was not all about money, and had a lot to do with Independence’s location between Cleveland and Akron.

James Hardy, chief of staff for Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, said, “We put our best foot forward. We think we did all we could ... We put forth a very responsible incentive package.”

Akron offered an estimated $200,000 in an income tax rebate, contingent upon the company increasing employment to a certain level, as well as a possible loan of $200,000 from the Akron BioInvestments Fund II.

Summit County offered $25,000 a year for up to five years, also contingent upon the company creating a minimum number of jobs.

On Friday, 7signal spokesman Eric Camulli said “one of the biggest reasons [for the move to Independence] was the ability to attract talent from both Akron and Cleveland.”

The company will relocate to an office off Rockside Road, just off Interstate 77.

Camulli, 7signal’s vice president of marketing and product management, said competition for software developers is fierce, and “Independence is more centrally located.”

7signal provides software that makes wireless communications operate more reliably inside buildings such as hospitals.

Camulli said the company’s new CEO, Tom Barrett, “has always impressed upon me that if we can be centrally located it would be ideal for attracting talent from both markets. He did obviously want to give the city of Akron a chance to see what they could do.”

Leaps and bounds

In 2011, 7signal had just three employees when it moved from Finland to Akron, where it set up shop in the business incubator known as the Akron Global Business Accelerator. The facility is in the former B.F. Goodrich complex off South Main Street downtown.

7signal said in a news release Friday that the company is now “at 25 employees with its sights set on growing to 60 employees over the next three years.”

The company said that its growth so far “is the direct result” of the city of Akron’s “soft-landing zone company approach which provided an array of business support services [via the business incubator] and a financial investment to 7signal as they entered the U.S. market.”

In 2013, the company received $250,000 from the then-new Akron BioInvestment Funds. The bioinvestment funds are a city initiative, a for-profit arm of the city’s Akron Development Corp. No city money was used in the first fund.

Concerning Cuyahoga County’s $480,000 loan, the county said that it would forgive the debt “only upon the company’s creation of 48 jobs having average annual salaries of at least $100,000 and maintenance of those jobs within the county over seven years.”

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ  on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.

CUYAHOGA FALLS: When the city purchased some property — including a pond, a dam and a babbling brook — as part of a three-way deal to bring a Menards home improvement store to town, it inherited a $12 million challenge.

That’s the price tag for all the things Cuyahoga Falls planners would like to do with Mill Pond and the Mud Brook area north of Graham Road.

A master plan created for the 2015 acquisition envisioned trails and light recreation, but studies have since indicated the need for dam improvements, pond dredging, environmental cleanup of land once used by a gun club, the return of wetlands to help with storm water retention, and reinforcement of the stream bank.

Now, where to get the money?

On Monday, Cuyahoga Falls City Council will consider legislation that would create a special “incentive district” that would raise funds for Mill Pond and Mud Brook projects by cutting a special deal with developers.

Those who invest along a designated corridor that runs along both sides of Mud Brook could qualify for tax increment financing (TIF).

New developments would be exempt from paying 75 percent of the taxes on the assessed value of their property for 10 years, but would make a “service payment” in lieu of those taxes.

Planning Director Fred Guerra said it’s a win-win: The incentive district could spur development in some underused areas while raising money for a public improvement fund.

Also, having that cash on hand would also help the city apply for matching grants, Guerra said.

“We can apply to [the Ohio Department of Natural Resources] for grants, but no one is giving us a $12 million grant,” Guerra said. “We needed to find a different way of making this work.”

The goal is to implement the Mill Pond-Mud Brook Greenway Master Plan over the next 20 years.

Most of the incentive district is owned by the city, although there are some commercial, industrial and residential lots included.

Among those who would qualify are two developments already underway: The Enclave at Old Mill Pond and a senior housing complex at Pleasant Meadow.

The legislation being considered by council Monday is for the first of four phases. The first phase would cover 195 acres and includes both sides of Mud Brook and Mill Pond and both current residential development projects.

Guerra said there are 89 acres that could be developed in that section.

An analysis of property values in the first district indicates $62 million could be invested in this area, with developer “service payments” totaling $9 million if fully realized, he said.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.

These days, you can’t get your first real six-string at the five-and-dime.

A guitar and other instruments needed for school bands and orchestras cost a little more than that.

Thanks to the Music Alive program run by WAPS (91.3-FM) the Summit and Taylor Band & Orchestra, parents and students in the Akron Public Schools are getting a little help.

Begun in 2008, Music Alive connects refurbished donated instruments with students in need. The radio station collects secondhand instruments and takes them to Taylor Band, where owner Brad Connair and his technicians clean, repair and restore them. The instruments’ donors are given a letter with a value so they can take the tax deduction. The instruments then go to students in grades six through 12 who can use them.

Music Alive recently reached a milestone: its 325th instrument. The red Ariana electric guitar was among five instruments received in a recent batch of donations and accepted at the Akron Board of Education meeting March 13. The guitar, valued at $700, was part of the collection of a Cuyahoga Falls man who heard about the program and wanted to make it available to the schools, said Marilyn Stroud, a retired Akron schools teacher and the Music Alive coordinator at the station.

Wednesday the guitar was in the hands of Gavin Gunn, 17, a senior in Adam Grom’s Guitar 2 class at Ellet High School.

“It’s nice to get the opportunity to be playing an electric guitar in guitar class because usually we deal with a lot of classical arrangements,” Gavin said. “I just wanted to play a lot of rock ’n’ roll, Jimi Hendrix stuff so it’s nice to be playing a guitar like this.”

Gavin took lessons for a few weeks in sixth grade, then didn’t pick it up again until his sophomore year when he took Guitar 1 with Grom, the director of instrumental music at Ellet.

The Music Alive program “is definitely very beneficial,” Gavin said. “Instruments are expensive. Not a lot of kids can afford a $3,000 Fender guitar, so it’s nice of them to do things like this, to give opportunities to kids who want to learn how to play music but don’t really have the resources to go out and get expensive instruments.”

He has a few guitars of his own at home, both acoustic and electric.

The chords of ­Hendrix’s Purple Haze and Carlos Santana’s Evil Ways cut through the air Wednesday as the class was preparing for an ­upcoming rock concert.

“I’ve not been shy about saying ‘Hey, give me some instruments,’ ” said Grom — who has been at Ellet for 28 years — before taking the class of five boys and one girl through the songs. He has also received a soprano sax, an electric bass and a few other guitars from Music Alive.

The Ariana is the first electric guitar the program has received, said Nathaniel Duvuvuei, Akron schools’ fine arts coordinator.

A lot of students might think they can’t afford an instrument before they take a class, Duvuvuei said.

“This [program] helps to remove barriers like that,” he said.

Tommy Bruno, general manager of the Summit, echoed that sentiment.

“Music Alive has always been the ultimate recycling program in our community,” Bruno said. “It affords many APS students the chance to learn and experience the joy of playing the instrument, and it takes the burden of the rental fees in many cases off the parents.” The program recently has been expanded to Stark and Mahoning counties, he said.

“It’s important to be able to have the availability of music education open to all students,” Connair said. “I firmly believe music is the culmination of all subject matter. It has a real-life application in a school setting that you don’t always get in all subjects.”

Students feel ‘lucky’

Brandon Rinaldi, 17, a junior, has been playing guitar about two years. He brings his red, white and blue Galveston electric guitar to class from home. It’s second hand. “I got lucky,” he said. “It was $100, but it sounds good. … Having Music Alive donate guitars to classes like this is really good because they give students guitars that they can use, or any instrument.”

Makaylee Vannatten, 15, a freshman, said her violin, which she has played since sixth grade, was $700 new. She brings her Yamaha acoustic guitar to play in class and plays the ukulele at home.

“Everyone should be able to experience [music] because it’s just fun,” she said. “It makes people happy.”

Monica L. Thomas can be reached at 330-996-3827 or mthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @MLThomasABJ  and www.facebook.com/MLThomasABJ.

Akron Police Chief James Nice took issue with protesters who alleged on Friday that the city’s police discriminate against black residents.

About 45 protesters demanded harsher charges against William Knight, a 63-year-old white man who on Monday night told police dispatchers he shot and killed Keith Johnson, a 24-year-old unarmed black man.

Knight was charged with involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault.

Cynthia Blake, a concerned citizen, said the lack of a murder charge proved black lives don’t matter as much as white lives.

“That’s bulls***,” Nice said twice in an interview Friday afternoon. “I’m not going to tolerate that nonsense or even get involved in it.”

The shooting happened during a confrontation over a dirt bike, which was stolen from Knight’s son-in-law in February 2016. Johnson’s family said he bought the bike from an acquaintance last year and didn’t know it was stolen.

When Knight’s son-in-law found the bike for sale online, the family asked police to accompany them to retrieve it. They said police had to 
respond to another call, but the family went to meet Johnson anyway.

When a confrontation erupted, Johnson tried to flee the scene. Knight’s son-in-law grabbed hold of the bike to stop Johnson from fleeing, and Knight — who has a license to carry a concealed handgun — shot Johnson, according to police. Knight told a dispatcher he thought Johnson was going to run over his son-in-law or his daughter, who was also at the scene.

Authorities said Friday that the charges against Knight might change as the case moves through the court system. The charges someone is arrested on are often less serious than what they face in court. Initial charges are designed to keep a suspect in jail while police complete their investigation.

In a Facebook post, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said the case has not reached her office.

“When the Akron Police Department has completed their investigation, we will receive the file for grand jury, and the more serious charge of murder could be considered,” she said. “I intend to seek justice.”

But protesters alleged it’s a slight against Akron’s black residents not to levy murder charges from the start.

“The grand jury process is totally different from the arrest,” Blake said. “He should have been charged with murder from the beginning.”

She said the lesser charges against Knight are part of the broader issue of systemic racism.

“We’ve got to get away from this thought that it’s OK to kill black people because we can get away with it,” she said.

Ray Greene Jr., a spokesman for the Akron Organizing Collaborative, agreed that race plays a major part in the case.

“If this was a black family, the entire family would be charged in relation to the crime,” he said.

Contacted after the protest, the police chief dismissed the allegations.

“Just to throw that outrageous statement out there is not true and just baloney,” Nice said.

He insisted his officers don’t treat the city’s black residents any differently than they treat its white residents.

The chief, like the prosecutor, said the charges might become more severe as the investigation proceeds.

Protesters demanded Nice resign and that supervisors at the scene be reprimanded. Nice refused both demands.

While the investigation continues, Knight remains in the county jail on $500,000 bond. He did not have an attorney listed in court records Friday afternoon.

Johnson’s father and brother were among the protesters. His father, Shawn Johnson, said the family has been struggling to make sense of his death.

“I just want justice for my son,” he said.

Johnson’s brother, Brandon Ward, declined to comment.

Another family member, cousin Sheneka Barnhart, couldn’t attend the protest but said Johnson’s death has torn her apart.

“My cousin did not deserve to die,” she said. “It’s not right for him to be gone over a dirt bike.”

Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ  and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .

AKRON

Woman dies in house fire

AKRON: A 58-year-old woman died after being pulled unconscious from a house on fire Wednesday afternoon in West Akron.

Akron firefighters responded to multiple calls of smoke at 1:16 p.m. and found a Cape Cod-style home on fire at 1217 Herman Ave.

The woman, whose identity had not been released, was found in the living room and taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where she later died.

The fire began in the kitchen and spread. Firefighters were still determining the cause, a spokesman said.

$1,000 grants available

AKRON: Ward 4 Councilman Russ Neal and John Valle, Akron director of Neighborhood Assistance, will host several meetings in April to brainstorm community improvement ideas and explain how to access up to $1,000 in the My Neighborhood Our Akron grant program to complete them.

Neal will discuss the grants during a ward meeting April 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lawton Street Community Center (1225 Lawton St.). Valle, whose office administers the grants, will be available 2-3 p.m. April 5 at Joy Park Community Center (825 Fuller St.), 12:30-2:30 p.m. on April 13 fat Ellet Community Center (2448 Wedgewood Drive) and 2-3 p.m. April 27 at Kenmore Community Center (880 Kenmore Blvd.).

CANAL FULTON

Man charged in break-ins

CANAL FULTON: A 59-year-old Jackson Township man is accused of a series of break-ins and thefts in the community and faces 27 criminal charges.

Dennis Martin Stinard of Portage Road NW pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Massillon Municipal Court.

He has been charged with eight counts of breaking and entering; four counts of vandalism; three counts of theft; safe cracking; attempt to commit burglary; burglary; two counts of possession of criminal tools; two counts of attempted breaking and entering; theft; possession of criminal tools; two counts of criminal damaging; and criminal mischief.

Local businesses started experiencing a rash of break-ins in September. Authorities caught a man earlier this month after an alarm went off at the Paolino’s Sports Pub & Grub on South Locust Street.

Canal Fulton police then worked with Lawrence Township police, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Stark County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force to identify a suspect in all the cases.

A preliminary hearing has been set for March 30.

CANTON

Officer pleads not guilty

CANTON: A city police officer was charged with controlling a vehicle while intoxicated on St. Patrick’s Day after he allegedly was found sleeping in his car outside a Jackson Township restaurant.

Billy Lott, 37, pleaded not guilty this week to the charge in Massillon Municipal Court. The officer was placed on restricted duty, the Canton Repository reports.

“We do take this very seriously, but everybody has the right to due process,” Police Chief Bruce Lawver told the newspaper.

Lott’s attorney told the newspaper his client showed good judgment by not drinking and driving.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP

Stark United Way to meet

JACKSON TWP.: The United Way of Greater Stark County will host its Annual Meeting Breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday at the Kent State University Conference Center at the Stark campus, 6000 Frank Ave NW.

The agenda will include announcing the 2016 fundraising campaign results and awards.

The event will also include presentation of awards. United Way’s DeHoff Emerging Philanthropist Award for 2017 will be presented to Joel Daniel Harris, while the Gold Key Service Awards will be presented to Helen Syrios and Mary Beddell.

Tickets are $20 or $160 for a table of eight. Register at www.uwstark.org/AnnualMeeting or call 330-491-9986.